The Director of Mining and Coal Development at Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Julian Ambassadur Shiddiq, has warned that the country's nickel reserves could be depleted within four to five years. The current annual demand for nickel ore is approximately 1 billion tons; however, the existing extraction capacity and reserves are insufficient to meet this demand.

Indonesia has difficulties in issuing enough mining licenses, with many nickel smelters having to import from the Philippines.

On November 4, nickel prices in Asia increased slightly by 1.1%. This upward trend was also reflected in the prices of stainless-steel scrap, with grade 304 rising by 0.4%.